My Etching of the Year!

This etching "Oil Rig" seems to be my etching of the year. I finished the plate about 2 years ago, and had shown it at my recent show at Westminster College. I liked it ok, but it wasn't what I would call my favorite print that I had recently completed. But I worked hard at completing the image and bringing it to that point that I at least felt comfortable with it. When it came time to enter work for the Washington Printmakers National Small Works Show, I had decided I wouldn't enter this year, as I didn't have anything that I was really excited about that fit the size parameters. The I created this etching called "Spike":

This was the etching that made me decide to enter the Washington Printmakers Show. I now had to pick 3 others, and one of them was "Oil Rig" which was still eligible as it was less that 2 years old, and small enough. So, what happened next was a pleasant surprise. After about 15 years of entering and being rejected from The Washington Printmakers National Small Print Show, I received an email congratulating me for having one of my prints accepted to the show, and lo and behold it was "Oil Rig" that got in. It has also been an award winner at this years Westmoreland Art Nationals in Greensburg, PA, and recently also got into the Mid-America Print Council juried show which is being held in Bloomington, Indiana this year.

The moral: Just because you don't like one of your works is no reason for it to be brought to the same state of completion as the ones you do like, for you never know what the jurors are going to favor.

Two Weeks Later

It's been two weeks since my stepson Mike died. Although the tragedy is constantly in our minds, my wife and I have begun to resume our life's routines. In looking through his things, we found many of his journal writings, which go back over 20 years. He started keeping a journal after high school and wrote about, among other things, his struggles with depression which apparently had been a problem for him throughout his adult life. Now, I've had a hard time blogging, always thinking that I didn't hava a lot to say. I'd like to give it a try again, and try talking about my work and the creative processes that have gotten me to where I am today. Don't know how often I'll be posting, but I'll try for once a week and see where that goes.